Simplify Armored Mage

[171akup]

I have read the armored mage in complete mage and I have seen other people talk about it. So what I would like is for someone to simplify it for me. Basically tell me when I can take this and how. Thanks in advance for all the help. :smallbiggrin:

[A_S]

When you take Fighter 1, you can choose to take the Armored Mage ACF, as long as you have at least 1 rank in Knowledge (arcana) skill.

If you do, you only get light armor proficiency (instead of light/medium/heavy, like Fighter normally gets). From then on, if you cast an arcane spell with a spell level equal to or lower than [Fighter level + 1], you don't suffer from arcane spell failure. So, if you're a Fighter 4/Wizard 11 and you took this ACF, you can cast Cloudkill (a level 5 spell) without arcane spell failure, but not Greater Dispel Magic (a level 6 spell, because 6 > 4 + 1).

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Unrelated: This ACF is terrible. If you're trying to be a hybrid mage/warrior, you should never be taking enough levels in Fighter for it to be helpful. If you really want to cast in armor, look into the Spellsword or Suel Arcanamach classes, invest in Mithral/Twighlight/Githcraft armor, or base your spellcasting side on a class that can cast in armor natively (like Bard or Sublime Chord).

[Larkas]

Unrelated: This ACF is terrible. If you're trying to be a hybrid mage/warrior, you should never be taking enough levels in Fighter for it to be helpful. If you really want to cast in armor, look into the Spellsword or Suel Arcanamach classes, invest in Mithral/Twighlight/Githcraft armor, or base your spellcasting side on a class that can cast in armor natively (like Bard or Sublime Chord).

This. Even Battle Sorcerer is better.

[holywhippet]

Bards can only wear light armour at best before they have arcane spell failure chances. Light armour is not a good choice if you plan to fight on the front lines.

[Larkas]

Bards can only wear light armour at best before they have arcane spell failure chances. Light armour is not a good choice if you plan to fight on the front lines.

You don't even need armor to fight on the front lines as a caster. Mage armor and shield do the trick nicely, not to mention luminous armor and its greater version. Throw in Abjurant Champion and feel free to laugh in the face of the fully armored fighter.

Besides, Mithral Breastplate is a thing. With a little Dex, you should have enough AC to rivalize a full plate.

[holywhippet]

You don't even need armor to fight on the front lines as a caster. Mage armor and shield do the trick nicely, not to mention luminous armor and its greater version. Throw in Abjurant Champion and feel free to laugh in the face of the fully armored fighter.

Besides, Mithral Breastplate is a thing. With a little Dex, you should have enough AC to rivalize a full plate.

Yeah, but if you get into a surprise combat you won't want to spend two rounds casting your defensive spells. Especially since you could have an enemy ready to get AoO's on you when you try casting.

I know mithral breastplates are available, in theory, but you have to be able to afford one which can take some time.

[Red Fel]

Duskblade does it better.

Cast arcane spells? Check.

Wear armor without penalty? Light armor and shields at level 1, check. Medium armor at level 4, check. Heavy shields at level 7, check.

Oh, and did we mention channeling spells through your weapon, quickening spells without the use of feats, and several other juicy features? Because Duskblade has those.

... Just a thought.

[Greenish]

Light armour is not a good choice if you plan to fight on the front lines.Heavy armour sucks. It caps your Dex, it slows you down and prevents you from tumbling, it's expensive, and the AC isn't that good.

Great majority of my frontliner characters have been running around in light armour. I'd love to wear full plate, but there's so little to justify the investment.


(Also, Abjurant Champion for free Extend/Quicken on your Greater Luminous Armour, and Shield.)

[Larkas]

Yeah, but if you get into a surprise combat you won't want to spend two rounds casting your defensive spells. Especially since you could have an enemy ready to get AoO's on you when you try casting.

I know mithral breastplates are available, in theory, but you have to be able to afford one which can take some time.

That is pretty much a nonissue as soon as those spells start lasting for 8 hours or more, which should be pretty soon.

[Thanatosia]

I'd say you're far better off just taking Still Spell and preparing EVERYTHING as a stilled spell then using that crappy armored mage ACF.... that pretty much has pretty close to the same 'cost' as taking 2 non-caster levels in terms of spell progression (since you pretty much just downranked all your spell slots 1 spell level and you gain new spell levels every 2 caster levels), but leaving you your full Caster level for spell effects and letting you cast freely in grapples.

[metabolicjosh]

Still Spell and then Metamagic Reduction cheese

[Thanatosia]

What metamagic reduction cheese is there that lets you cast more then a handful of stilled spells at no increased spell level?

[A_S]

Bards can only wear light armour at best before they have arcane spell failure chances. Light armour is not a good choice if you plan to fight on the front lines.
Unless full plate was somehow integral to my character concept, I would never consider wearing anything but light armor for any character, spellcaster or no. The reduced movement speed alone is worth more than the 3-4 AC tops that you lose.

*edit*
What metamagic reduction cheese is there that lets you cast more then a handful of stilled spells at no increased spell level?
Metaphysical Spell Shaper + Strongheart Vest.

[Thurbane]

Unless full plate was somehow integral to my character concept, I would never consider wearing anything but light armor for any character, spellcaster or no. The reduced movement speed alone is worth more than the 3-4 AC tops that you lose.
I agree completely. Usually the only time I go heavy armor is if I am a Dwarf. Dwarves are kinda awesome like that. Heck, they can even Tumble in heavy armor. The Tooth of Savnok achieves a similar effect, but come with some complications related to the vestige in question.

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Urban Savant PrC from Cityscape is not a bad choice - if you can swing the reqs, it allows any arcane caster to cast in light armor with no ASF.

[Blueiji]

Yeah, but if you get into a surprise combat you won't want to spend two rounds casting your defensive spells. Especially since you could have an enemy ready to get AoO's on you when you try casting.

By level level 5 a casting of extended mage armor will last 10 hours. More than rough for any adventuring day.


I know mithral breastplates are available, in theory, but you have to be able to afford one which can take some time.

A mithral chain shirt has a 10% arcane spell failure chance. If you give it the "Twilight" enchantment from Player's Handbook II (or the magic item compendium), then it has an arcane spell failure chance of 0%, which is to say, no failure chance at all. That combination of armor, material, and enchantment would only cost 2,100. Easily affordable at early levels.

Both of those methods off good AC bonuses at minimal investment. They don't stack of course, but you don't need both.

[Tokuhara]

Now, I'm looking at playing a Sun Elf Generalist 6/Swiftblade 9/Abjurant Champion 5 in a Forgotten Realms campaign and am seeing myself wearing the Twilight Mithril Chain Shirt and using an Elven Thinblade (DM houseruled all races get Racial Weaponry [or whatever that feat's called] for free) and a bow (for back-up) and am so far seeing him as a lithe, nimble duelist-type with pretty hoss spellcasting (CL 17, BAB 17) and I can say that I'd avoid the Armored Mage like the plague for my PC.

Now, Armored Mage might work for a Fighter-Type who dabbles in Arcane Magic (Fighter 7/Wizard 2/Abjurant Champion 5/Eldritch Knight 6), but even then, you aren't all that powerful (CL 18 with Spells of a 9th Level Wizard (4th and below) unless I read Abjurant Champion's Martial Arcanist Capstone wrong)and you look like an indecisive BSF to your party. With Mine, I look like a caster, then I pick up a sword and do that job decently (and look good doing it all elf-y and with a sweet flip or two in a round where I attack)

[Feytalist]

A mithral chain shirt has a 10% arcane spell failure chance. If you give it the "Twilight" enchantment from Player's Handbook II (or the magic item compendium), then it has an arcane spell failure chance of 0%, which is to say, no failure chance at all. That combination of armor, material, and enchantment would only cost 2,100. Easily affordable at early levels.

Slight correction: "twilight" is an enhancement that needs to be added to already enhanced armour. So, a +1 twilight mithral shirt would cost 5,100.

It's still a good option.

[Greenish]

A mithral chain shirt has a 10% arcane spell failure chance. If you give it the "Twilight" enchantment from Player's Handbook II (or the magic item compendium), then it has an arcane spell failure chance of 0%, which is to say, no failure chance at all. That combination of armor, material, and enchantment would only cost 2,100. Easily affordable at early levels.Mithral chain shirt is 1,100 gp. +2 enhancement (+1 base, +1 Twilight) would be 4,000 gp. How are you getting Twilight Mithral Chain Shirt at 2,100 gp?

[Edit]: Swordsage'd.

[Larkas]

Wasn't there some "fey craft" quality that also reduced ASF?

[Greenish]

Wasn't there some "fey craft" quality that also reduced ASF?Feycraft/Githcraft (DMGII, I think), Thistledown padding (RoW), there are a whole bunch of things.

[Feytalist]

Feycraft, githcraft and thistledown all knock off 5%, costing 500/600 gp, somewhere in that region.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Yeah, but if you get into a surprise combat you won't want to spend two rounds casting your defensive spells. Especially since you could have an enemy ready to get AoO's on you when you try casting.

There are very few circumstances where your armor spell wouldn't already be active. Abjurant Champion switches your abjuration spells (Shield) to a swift action casting time. You're not spending any rounds at all buffing, and you don't even provoke an AoO for casting Shield even if you skip casting defensively.

[Darrin]

Does Battle Caster (Complete Arcane) trump the whole "applies only to spells of a level equal to or lower than your fighter class level + 1"?

Hmm. Looks like it doesn't. (But it should, dagnabbit.)

[Segev]

Ironically, there is one class that would impact this "unexpectedly:" Warblade counts, for all feats that use Fighter levels, as Fighter-2. Not that it's helpful, but you could cast spells at your Warblade+Fighter-1 level with it.

--er, wait, no. This is an ACF, not a feat. Somebody who has access to the book, does Warblade's wording of this class feature allow it to stack?

[Darrin]

Ironically, there is one class that would impact this "unexpectedly:" Warblade counts, for all feats that use Fighter levels, as Fighter-2. Not that it's helpful, but you could cast spells at your Warblade+Fighter-1 level with it.

--er, wait, no. This is an ACF, not a feat. Somebody who has access to the book, does Warblade's wording of this class feature allow it to stack?

Warblade levels only count when qualifying for feats. So no, doesn't work. Daring Warrior (Complete Scoundrel)... same thing.

[Joe the Rat]

If you want to nickel and dime it, mithral bucklers are a thing.